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I pay about $100 per year for a pre-paid plan on an old phone that I use mostly for emergencies. I see many people around me that have pland starting around $40 per month. The required data plan adds $30. Unlimited texting adds another $10. Add in taxes plus a few other features and it is approaching $100 per month.Originally Posted by Brian Elfert
Steve
[OP]
Contributor
The real reason Comcast is going digital is because analog channels take more bandwidth on the system. They can fit more digital channels in the same bandwidth. After Comcast upgraded our system to digital for the channels other than basic service they added a whole slew of HD channels with the extra bandwidth.
Contributor
I get 100 minutes for $10. I don't have coverage issues but I'm in a populated area. I've been in S.W. Wisconsin and coverage was indeed spotty, they use AT&T s gophone (prepaid) network. And right now I don't need a smart phone. The company I use does offer sms and data plans but I'll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.
Member
Fred, your conclusions are highly debatable. I would make the following observations: (i) the US has a lower HHI for mobile services than any other OECD country, which means the market is less concentrated here and more competitive; (ii) we are leading in LTE deployment, which means--if you are willing to pay--you have access to the highest speed and quality services available; (iii) in many other countries, wireless services are government subsidized, and here services are provided through private investment (I realize that there was a $2B broadband stimulus fund, but major carriers didn't even apply for that money); (iv) in most other countries, subscribers pay the full cost of handsets, whereas here they are subsidized or even free based on signing a contract; and (v) most other countries subscriber to a "calling party pays" model, which means that mobile users do not pay for incoming calls. I would also note that the US has a mobile penetration rate that is pretty high, although not the highest--countries with really poor landline infrastructure tend to lead there, but that isn't necessarily a good thing.
Moderator
QAM "is" digital...
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Member
I don't know how my wife does it, but she does it. Our first bill of the year arrived from Comcast with several rate increases, including a change from free to $1.99/mo for each of our two DTA converters we got several years ago because Comcast switched to all-digital, and we still had two analog TVs (in addition to one HD screen which had an HD/DVR box). Well, a couple years ago, we upgraded one of our analog TVs to a small LCD, so we got another HD/DVR box for it as well, meaning one of the little DTA boxes just sat unused. So my wife hauled that box down to the local office to return it. Apparently, she was far from the first by a long shot. Then, not only did they remove the charge for it, they knocked off $20/mo for a year, and took off the rental fee for the second DVR for 6 months.
But, I'm with Matt--overall, I've been happy with the service I've gotten from Comcast--it's been reliable, and the internet has been FAST. The speed tests I run occasionally typically come back in the 16-17 Mbps range.
I haven't tried to hook a digital TV directly to the cable to see what I can get. I may have to do that. I have heard that there is a portion of the signal that is unscrambled (basic cable), so a standard digital tuner (QAM) will pick it up. The OTA tuner for digital signals is the ATSC standard, and the old OTA signal standard is known as NTSC in the U.S.
[OP]
Contributor
Yes, but digital cable and digital TV are not necessarily the same thing. There are indications Comcast may not be encrypting the basic channels, but they certainly are for the non-basic channels. Comcast has to authorize the equipment in their system in order to get the full digital cable package. Digital cable equipment has both a unit address and a MAC address. I'm not sure which they use for authorization.
I bought basic cable when I moved into my house in 2001. I figured out about 4 years later that Comcast never installed a filter on the line so I could get all of the cable channels. When Comcast did the digital conversion in 2010 I purchased the Digital Starter package from Comcast to keep the extra channels. It is much more difficult to steal cable TV now since you need to have equipment that is authorized with Comcast. When I was in college the dorm adviser had cable TV in her apartment in the dorm and the cable ran outside. That cable had so many splitters on it I am surprised anyone got decent reception. A bunch of the rooms had coax cable running in through windows. I was surprised the college didn't put a stop to it.
Moderator
QAM is the "standard" that most cable providers (plus VZ FiOS) use for digital channels on their systems. Some put two channels on a single QAM; some put three, depending on whether or not HD is involved and if they are compressing. (Comcast tends to compress HD, AFAIK) Encryption (scrambling) is a different issue and as you certainly know, you need "the box" to deal with that. But if QAM channels are not encrypted, a current generation receiver that supports QAM should be able to tune them in. The biggest hassle with using QAM tuners to get these signals is that the providers occasionally move things around which then requires you to re-scan for available channels...
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
[OP]
Contributor
I may have access to a TV in the next few months that has a QAM tuner. It will be interesting to see if it works with Comcast basic cable with no box.
Comcast already has a screwy channel numbering system if one has a cable ready TV with the old analog basic cable.
Member
Boxee (an over-the-top set top box) objected when cable companies started encrypting the basic tier--the resolution is described below...
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/14/f...-strings-that/
[OP]
Contributor
I read that Engadget article. You gotta love the people complaining that they can't get their basic cable on their SEVEN televisions. How much money have these people spent on buying TVs? I have ONE television in my house. I live alone, but I couldn't see having seven televisions even with a large family.
Member
Eh, I just saw one of those HGTV rooms-of-the-rich-and-shameless where a guy was showing off his $6M home theater. It's all relative.
Member
Nope. They could change the signals to digital to allow more bandwidth without encrypting those signals. They encrypted them because for years Comcast has been too lazy to actually disconnect service to houses and apartments when someone moves out. The next person moves in and has cable, so they never call and "connect" service. Comcast claims these people have been "stealing" service. Nope again, they are not stealing something that comcast gave them by not turning it off.
I switched to DirecTV after Comcast did their "upgrade" in my area. Want your HD channels back that your already paying for? Ok, that'll be 16.95 per month, per tv. Prior to their "upgrade", I had three DVR's (one a lifetime sub TIVO), and two tuner cards in PC's. All of that was rendered useless. Worse yet, the set-top boxes that they sent people, the one that would atleast show you your HD channels in SD form, 90% of them (of the people i know) were bad out of the box. The dino's they replaced them with wouldn't even show you the HD channels in SD anymore.
The local Comcast offices were swamped for weeks with people turning in equipment and cancelling service.
Member
So then I assume you wouldn't mind me taking your grill off your deck. After all, you didn't put it away so its not stealing.
Member
Two totally different things. If Comcast is too lazy to turn the service off to a location, the people moving in aren't stealing anything.
Just like if I move out, and don't take my grill with me, the people moving in didn't steal it, did they?
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